Quantum mechanical calculations reveal the hidden states of enzyme active sites
Enzymes carry out fundamental biological processes such as photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation and respiration, with the help of clusters of metal atoms as "active" sites. But scientists lack basic...
View ArticleNew device could make large biological circuits practical
Researchers have made great progress in recent years in the design and creation of biological circuits—systems that, like electronic circuits, can take a number of different inputs and deliver a...
View ArticleCulprit identified in decline of endangered Missouri River pallid sturgeon
Pallid sturgeon come from a genetic line that has lived on this planet for tens of millions of years; yet it has been decades since anyone has documented any of the enormous fish successfully producing...
View Article3D reconstruction of a vital interaction
Researchers at IBS (CEA/CNRS/Joseph Fourier University) have succeeded for the first time in observing, on an atomic scale, the path taken and the successive changes in form undergone by a disordered...
View ArticleBorrowing from whales to engineer a new fluid sensor
How can a humpback whale and a device that works on the same principle as the clicker that starts your gas grill help an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fly longer and with more stability?
View ArticleCatch-release-repeat: Study reveals novel technique for handling molecules
Like vast international trading companies, biological systems pick up freight items (in the form of small molecules), transport them from place to place and release them at their proper destination....
View ArticleThe mechanics of life
An interdisciplinary research team formed by Otger Campàs, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and colleague Jérome...
View ArticleReducing big data using ideas from quantum theory makes it easier to interpret
Analysing the large volumes of data gathered by modern businesses and public services is problematic. Traditionally, relationships between the different parts of a network have been represented as...
View ArticleLearning from biology to accelerate discovery
A spider's web is one of the most intricate constructions in nature, but its precious silk has more than one use. Silk threads can be used as draglines, guidelines, anchors, pheromonal trails, nest...
View ArticleIon channel mechanics yield insights into optogenetics experiments
Optogenetics techniques, which allow scientists to map and control nerve cells using light stimulation, are being used to study neural circuits in the brain with unprecedented precision. This...
View ArticleNew cell division mechanism discovered
Canadian and British researchers have discovered that chromosomes play an active role in animal cell division. This occurs at a precise stage - cytokinesis - when the cell splits into two new daughter...
View ArticleBiology, not just physics, controls release of scent compounds from plants
Purdue University research suggests active biological mechanisms transport scent and taste compounds known as volatiles from plant cells to the atmosphere, a finding that could overturn the textbook...
View ArticleBiological tools create nerve-like polymer network
Using a succession of biological mechanisms, Sandia National Laboratories researchers have created linkages of polymer nanotubes that resemble the structure of a nerve, with many out-thrust filaments...
View ArticleNew findings help explain how molecules are speedily transported into and out...
A cell does everything it can to protect its nucleus, where precious genetic information is stored. That includes controlling the movement of molecules in and out using gateways called nuclear pore...
View ArticleStudy sheds light on powerful process that turns food into energy
The way in which our cells convert food into fuel is shared by almost all living things - now scientists have discovered a likely reason why this is so widespread.
View ArticleNovel microscopy method illuminates cell changes caused by aging, injury and...
A University of Maryland-led team of researchers has developed an optical microscopy technique capable of shedding new light on how the mechanical properties of cells change in the course of aging,...
View ArticleDemocratizing high-throughput single molecule force analysis
From the tension of contracting muscle fibers to hydrodynamic stresses within flowing blood, molecules within our bodies are subject to a wide variety of mechanical forces that directly influence their...
View ArticleThick-skinned bed bugs beat commonly used bug sprays
The global resurgence in bed bugs over the past two decades could be explained by revelations that bed bugs have developed a thicker cuticle that enables them to survive exposure to commonly used...
View ArticleDiscovery of enzyme in the sleeping sickness parasite streamlines drug...
Researchers from Umeå University in Sweden have discovered that the single-celled parasite causing African sleeping sickness has a defence mechanism against potential pharmaceuticals under development...
View ArticleSuper-resolution microscope builds 3-D images by mapping negative space
Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have demonstrated a method for making three-dimensional images of structures in biological material under natural conditions at a much higher resolution...
View ArticleForecasting climate change's effects on biodiversity hindered by lack of data
An international group of biologists is calling for data collection on a global scale to improve forecasts of how climate change affects animals and plants.
View ArticleNewly discovered gene critical to embryo's first days
A previously unknown gene plays a critical part in the development of the human embryo during the first days of fertilisation, researchers from Karolinska Institutet show. The paper, which is published...
View ArticleChimera state: How synchrony and asynchrony co-exist
Order and disorder might seem dichotomous conditions of a functioning system, yet both states can, in fact, exist simultaneously and durably within a system of oscillators, in what's called a chimera...
View ArticleLegos and origami inspire next-generation materials
Inspired by the fun of playing with Legos, an international team of researchers from Tianjin University of Technology and Harvard University have used the idea of assembling building-blocks to make the...
View ArticleScientists reveal a new mechanism mediating environment-microbe-host...
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have uncovered a new mechanism showing how microbes can alter the physiology of the organisms in which they live. In a paper published in Nature Cell Biology,...
View ArticleBreaking Newton's Law: Intriguing oscillatory back-and-forth motion of a...
A ripe apple falling from a tree has inspired Sir Isaac Newton to formulate a theory that describes the motion of objects subject to a force. Newton's equations of motion tell us that a moving body...
View ArticleScientists have developed a new tool for imaging life at the nanoscale
Australian scientists have developed a new tool for imaging life at the nanoscale that will provide new insights into the role of transition metal ions such as copper in neuro-degenerative diseases.
View ArticleParasite study paves way for infection therapies
Fresh insight into how a harmful parasite harnesses the energy it needs to function could point towards therapies to prevent potentially fatal diseases.
View ArticleBiologists create beetle with functional extra eye
On "Game of Thrones," a three-eyed raven holds the secrets of the past, present and future in a vast fantasy kingdom. But for real-world biologists, a "three-eyed beetle" may offer a true glimpse into...
View ArticleLess moisture in natural fibers
Natural fibers have many advantages: they are renewable, biodegradable and robust. They are more energy-efficient to produce than glass or carbon fibers, are lighter and have better acoustics. Their...
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